Four Volunteers Clear Storm Debris for 30 Topeka Homes

Four volunteers are turning an overwhelming cleanup challenge into a lesson about community kindness in Topeka, Kansas.

More than a week after severe storms tore through the area, the Great Plains United Methodist early response team continues helping residents who can't manage the cleanup alone. Elderly, disabled, and single residents faced yards full of debris they couldn't move and couldn't afford to hire help for.

Hollie Tapley, the team's coordinator, explains their mission simply. "We're working with KDEM to assist each resident and help get their yards clean and get the debris to the curb so that the county can come by and pick it up."

The four volunteers met at Susanna Wesley Church, mapped out their ambitious plan to reach 30 residents, and started with prayers for energy and safety. Then they geared up and got to work.

Brenda Davis watched the team tackle her property with gratitude and relief. "It means so much because I don't have anyone to do that, and the size of it, it's not something that's affordable to make sure that gets done," she said. "I don't know where else I would have gone."

Sunny's Take

What makes this story shine isn't just the hard work. It's what volunteer Mike Parks asked for in return: absolutely nothing except kindness passed forward.

"It's truly just an act of kindness," Parks said. "And my only wish is that you pass that on and ask someone else to pass the same thing on for someone else in some way."

The team continues taking calls as requests pile up. They hope to expand beyond their crew of four, and anyone interested can reach disaster response coordinator Hollie Tapley at htapley@greatplainsumc.org.

Four people proving that when neighbors show up for neighbors, communities don't just recover faster, they grow stronger together.